The Briar Chapel trails are still under construction but there is a decent loop at this time.
The trails are mostly novice skill level without much climbing, but there are multiple sections
of intermediate skill level and several rock gardens which will be difficult for just about anyone
if the toughest line is chosen.

Directions
If coming from the south, from the intersection of hwy 15-501 and hwy 64 just north of Pittsboro,
take 15-501 north for about 6 miles. Briar Chapel Parkway is the first left past Jack Bennett Rd
and is only about 0.2-0.3 miles past Jack Bennett. Take Briar Chapel Parkway as directed below:

If coming from the north, take hwy 15-501 south about 5.8 miles from the intersection of hwy 15-501 and hwy 54
to Briar Chapel Parkway which will be on the right. Take Briar Chapel Parkway as directed below:

If coming from the east, you have to get around Jordan Lake. Use the mapping source of your choice to find a route
which best leads to the intersection of hwy 15-501 and Jack Bennett Rd and pick up Briar Chapel Parkway and then follow it as directed below:

Follow Briar Chapel Parkway about 1.7 miles to a traffic circle. On the opposite side
of the circle on the right is the clubhouse and pool and there is plenty of parking here.
Ride down Norwood Drive about 1000 feet and the trail will cross. The trail rides well
in either direction.

Review Briar Chapel trail

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Having ridden Harris, Crabtree, Brumley, and Briar Chapel numerous times BC is my current favorite for a couple of reasons. First, if you do the entire trail system you can finish with 10 miles without repeating much. Second, there's a lot of variety and variability in the trails.

If you're an adrenaline junkie or an expert rider, you're probably better off elsewhere, like San Lee. But for intermediates or those who just enjoy a diverse ride, it's hard to beat this system.

The Herndon Loop has been recently upgraded to include some great jumps and berms. Ride it from the top to get the most out of it; take the double track opposite the Catullo Run parking area toward the main entrance to the neighborhood, and watch for the singletrack on your left. There are two entrances to Herndon up that way- take the second one (the one closer to the main entrance of BC), then enjoy the downhill. The lower part of Herndon is also enjoyable but with less action.

Going deeper into the neighborhood will bring you to Bennett Mountain, which means either a punchy climb on mulched doubletrack or a winding, rock-strewn singletrack with a few tight turns. The latter can be tricky in parts. The top of the "mountain" has a rock garden with some bridges and ramps if you want that. Going down the back side you can take the rocky singletrack or the mulched path again. The doubletrack has a nice little steeper downhill section that's fun to bomb in the right conditions. Bennett Mountain is what brings the overall tech score up, in my opinion.

Crossing a bridge takes you into the bulk of the singletrack, which features woods, grassy areas, a few tight turns and technical spots, and decent climbs. In all, I typically get just under 10 miles and just over 800 feet of elevation gain here, according to Strava, and that's much better cardio than I get from comparable distances at Harris, Crabtree, or Brumley. One last warning- if you park at Catullo and ride the neighborhood counterclockwise (i.e. starting north of Briar Chapel Pkwy) there is a big punchy climb at the end, regardless of which trail branch you take.

A nice side reward at the end of the ride is at Town Hall Burger and Beer, which sits at the edge of the neighborhood and can be reached via the nature trail system.

Having ridden Harris, Crabtree, Brumley, and Briar Chapel numerous times BC is my current favorite for a couple of reasons. First, if you do the entire trail system you can finish with 10 miles without repeating much. Second, there's a lot of variety and variability in the trails.

If you're an adrenaline junkie or an expert rider, you're probably better off elsewhere, like San Lee. But for intermediates or those who just enjoy a diverse ride, it's hard to beat this system.

The Herndon Loop has been recently upgraded to include some great jumps and berms. Ride it from the top to get the most out of it; take the double track opposite the Catullo Run parking area toward the main entrance to the neighborhood, and watch for the singletrack on your left. There are two entrances to Herndon up that way- take the second one (the one closer to the main entrance of BC), then enjoy the downhill. The lower part of Herndon is also enjoyable but with less action.

Going deeper into the neighborhood will bring you to Bennett Mountain, which means either a punchy climb on mulched doubletrack or a winding, rock-strewn singletrack with a few tight turns. The latter can be tricky in parts. The top of the "mountain" has a rock garden with some bridges and ramps if you want that. Going down the back side you can take the rocky singletrack or the mulched path again. The doubletrack has a nice little steeper downhill section that's fun to bomb in the right conditions.

Crossing a bridge takes you into the bulk of the singletrack, which features woods, grassy areas, a few tight turns and technical spots, and decent climbs. In all, I typically get just under 10 miles and just over 800 feet of elevation gain here, according to Strava, and that's much better cardio than I get from comparable distances at Harris, Crabtree, or Brumley. One last warning- if you park at Catullo and ride the neighborhood counterclockwise (i.e. starting north of Briar Chapel Pkwy) there is a big punchy climb at the end, regardless of which trail branch you take.

A nice side reward at the end of the ride is at Town Hall Burger and Beer, which sits at the edge of the neighborhood and can be reached via the nature trail system.

I've ridden BC many times, and it's one of my fav trails because there's a nice variety - you can rip flow sections and also some technical rocky sections. There's not much in the way of climbing, descending or jumping, but there's a few fun stunts at the top of Bennett Mtn.

About Bennett Mtn - if rocks are your thing, you'll have fun. I could easily spend an afternoon choosing different lines through the rock features, and if you're feeling really good, billygoat your way UP Bennett. In addition to the rocks, there's some bermed switchbacks, nothing to fancy, but still fun.

Regarding the outer loop, and the rocky sections, it's just a small part of the entire outer loop so if you're a novice or don't like this style of riding, it won't last long as most of the outer loop is flow oriented.

I find it pretty easy to find your way around the trail, and coming from Raleigh, this trail simply warrants the drive because BC is that much fun!

Visited Briar Chapel for the first time lately. Left unimpressed. Probably will not go back. We were not sure exactly what to expect. Had seen photos and watched videos. The outer loop trails is ok with decent flow. But could have been much better designed to take better advantage of the terrain. Lots of erosion. Bennett Mountain was interesting, but a complete waste of time. I'm sure someone enjoys billygoating through piles of huge rocks, but it's not my cup o tea. Again, another complete waste of opportunity to turn interesting terrain into something rideable and fun. From Raleigh, Briar Chapel simply doesn't warrant the drive.

Great trail. My wife and I just moved to Chapel Hill from Texas and live riding distance from the Briar Chapel. So far it is the best we have experienced in the Triangle area. The diversity of terrain ranging between flow track, twisty tree sections, fast flats, and, best of all, the rocks on Bennett Mountain are excellent. I have ridden this trail on my 100mm XC bike and 160mm trail bike and had fun on both. There is something for every style of riding. At some point there were beginner / intermediate jumps on several sections of trail, but they are very eroded as of this review.

A note to first time riders: While easy to navigate after one or two rides, we got lost several times on our first outing (counter clockwise from 1574 gravel road) despite looking at the map beforehand. First, there is a main loop and numerous trail splits with no markings such as "Bypass" to indicate it is a shortcut. Second, there is an out and back section to the school that dead ends into a field. We rode around for 5-10 minutes expecting to find somewhere for the trail to pickup again. After fighting with our sweaty gloves and iPhones for several minutes we realized we had to turn around. Third, when we got to Bennett Mountain, it seemed we were going backwards up a rocky downhill trail. I say this because of the bermed switchbacks and rock features. We know now that this section is not looped, but rather two directional our to a "lollipop" loop with flow trail. When you come back down Bennett Mountain there is no indication that you should turn across the wooden bridge to finish the main loop and instead, we rode into some bandit trails that although fun, was frustrating when we thought it was part of the main trail system. I would just say, make a copy of the Map handy and know that the TrailForks and ProjectMTB apps may not be entirely up to date.

With all of that said, this is my new home trail so I look forward to donating trail work time to improve areas that I noted as needing work above!

One of the best trails in the Triangle area for a quick 1-2 hour ride IMO. It has good flow which makes it a fun. There is really just one technically challenging section (mainly rock gardens) that has an optional bypass marked with signage. There is a gravel lot for bikers on Briar Chapel Parkway. If you enter Briar Chapel Parkway from 15-501, continue straight when you get to the roundabout and the lot is about 0.5 mi on the right. Please keep in mind that walkers also use the trail, so be polite and respectful.

I'm maybe biased since it's the closest trail to me, but this is my second favorite in the area after San Lee. I think it's current rank in the ratings on this site terribly underrates the trail (IMHO, it blows crabtree out of the water). With the addition of Bennett Mt and ETD trail sections there's now more technical rock gardens, more climbing, and more flowy sections. You can skip the Bennett Mt. turn off for a quick 6-7 mile loop that's generally very flowy, with a few rock gardens between the bridges and near the school out-and-back. I get somewhere around 10 miles for the full loop with the out-and-back. Personally, I think it's a great trail for an advanced beginner - lots of flow to keep it fun, but some challenging sections to improve your skills. My only complaint is that the neighborhood has continued to grow and in some places where you used to be riding in deep woods, you're now right behind people's houses (there are still some pretty scenic sections).

Rode this trail twice in the past few weeks. Great trail in my opinion. Good flow and some rocky sections. While there is a lack of trail markers, I had no problem completing the entire loop without any issues. There is only 1 section of trail that goes up by the school that doesn't loop and you just turn around. When you come to road crossings, you can easily find the trail connections on the opposite side. Its a good 30-40 minute drive from the triangle but worth checking out. I know I will go back again.

Rode today and was disappointed by the lack of trail markers. As I arrived there was another rider that had just returned to the pool parking lot and said that after not being able to follow the trail, decided to just pedal back to the car and call it a day. I brushed this off and went about my ride. I wish I could say that they were blind and not able to see the trail markings. This is the poorest marked trail in the area. Now, there is a lot of construction around the trail and this may be the reason for the poor markings. Trail signs point you in a direction and then you find yourself crossing pavement with no further direction posts. At one point I followed a sign that pointed me up a mulch covered trail and ended on a street with what looked like a storage shed and could not find the trail.

Again, there is a lot of construction around the trail and this could be part of the problem. On the positive the trail did have some good rock garden areas and found them fun. A single track trial in a community setting is awesome. I did see people enjoying the hiking trails as well.

I agree with others that this trail is poorly marked. I rode it two years ago with a group, and had no problems as they knew the trail. Even if it's a 2x4 with a laminated sign pointing you in the direction of the trail, that would be very helpful.